Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 752,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,712 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.13% of FirstEnergy worth $29,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the third quarter worth about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 59.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 48.4% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $40.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52 week low of $35.41 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.73.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on FE. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

FirstEnergy Corp., through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in the United States. It operates through Regulated Distribution and Regulated Transmission segments. The company owns and operates coal-fired, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and solar power generating facilities.